Witness
by Lely00
Summary: Spencer Reid is a college student who witnessed a murder. A team of detectives led by Aaron Hotchner is called to resolve the case. The killer knows that Spencer saw him and maybe will come back and kill him. Agent Derek Morgan is sent to temporarily live with the kid and protect him but nothing is as it seems and soon Spencer will find himself trapped in a nightmare!
1. Chapter 1

**Hi! This is my first story on and it is not written in my language. I'm Italian and I'm translating my stories to improve my English so please, have mercy and, help me improve the language by leaving a little review.**

 **Originally this story was an Italian long long one shot , but I decided to split it in two chapters.**

 **This story is AU and there is a lot of OOC, you're warned.**

 **All mistakes are my own.**

 **I don't own Criminal Minds and the characters are not mine (unfortunately).**

 **Witness**

 **Chapter 1**

Spencer Reid barely suppressed a yawn, taking another sip of coke from his glass to at least try to hide it.

Will was talking about how good he was in the last football match. Penelope's boyfriend, Kevin, kept staring at Will like he was ready to kill him, while JJ and Penelope were looking up to him as if he was a superhero.  
He didn't know why JJ had dragged him to that dinner. He would have much rather preferred to sit in his apartment and read a good book, or maybe watch a good scientific documentary.

According to JJ, Spencer

spent too much time locked up in his apartment. But Reid couldn't understand how JJ could define "funny" listening to a jock with only half a brain brag about how good he was to kick a ball.

Yet another yawn threatened to come out of his mouth and yet another sip of coke stopped it.

So this was his Saturday night.

So boring that he could barely keep his eyes open.

He felt the need to smoke.

He rose from his seat, leaving the boring conversation with an excuse and a fake smile on his face.  
Needless to say, JJ did not even look at him, her eyes focused on Will's perfect lips.

Spencer rolled his eyes, quickly slipping out of the restaurant.

He looked at his watch.

It was only midnight. He had an entire, boring night before him.

He sighed, taking out the lighter from his pocket.  
As he was about to light the first cigarette after a week of total abstinence, he saw something moving out of the corner of his eye.

It was dark , the only street lamp in front of the restaurant was not enough to enlighten the entire alley.  
"Hello? "He shouted in the darkness.  
When he got no answer, the boy shrugged.

Perhaps it was only a cat looking for something to eat in the garbage.

He returned his focus on the cigarette when a sound caught his attention again.  
It looked like a muffled cry ...  
" Who's there? " he cried, while a slight shiver ran down his spine.

" Hello? "He asked again, removing the cigarette from his mouth.  
Walking on trembling legs, he eventually reached the exact spot from where the muffled sound kept coming.

"C- can I help you? "He asked, his voice slightly nervous, while his right hand reached his phone in the back of his jeans.  
Suddenly, as he got closer to the unknown sound, he saw something that made his skin crawl.  
Something, or rather someone, crawling toward him, emitting a pained sound from his mouth.

The boy's eyes widened and he instinctively stepped back, muffling a cry with his hand.  
That crawling "thing" was definitely a man.  
A man staring at him imploringly, with a bloody hand raised in his direction.

His throat was open from ear to ear and dark blood gushed copious from the wound.

"Don't get any closer ..."

It was the first thing that Spencer managed to say, too scared to dial the emergency number on his cell phone that was still open in his trembling hand.  
He knew he had to help him, but he couldn't make a single movement, too terrified and shocked.

While he was paralyzed in fear, the boy saw another figure approaching from the shadows of the alley, standing right above the dying man on the floor.  
"S-stay away from me ... I won't tell anything ... l- I swear ..." Spencer whimpered, trembling from head to toe.

The figure didn't stop but continued to approach him slowly, enjoying his new prey's fear. Suddenly, the light of the street lamp enlightened half of the stranger's figure and Spencer could see the T- shirt he was wearing.

It was black, with the picture of a lion on it. The animal had its mouth open, its fangs out, ready to attack.  
Spencer would never forget that picture.  
When the killer was closer to the street lamp, Spencer closed his eyes, afraid that if he saw the face of that monster, then he would have certainly killed him…

With his eyes still closed he heard a thud and a loud cry from the floor.

Suddenly, the wounded man's moaning stopped.

The killer had finished his prey, maybe hitting him on the head.

The boy cried when he heard the footsteps getting closer to where he stood.  
The stranger's warm hand rested on the boy's cheek , causing him to cry out in fear.  
But Spencer kept his eyes closed.

The monster grabbed him by the waist, hugging him and pressing him against his chest with all his straight, as if to muffle his cry…or just to suffocate him .  
Spencer could clearly smell the monster's scent and began to cry.

He couldn't breathe…  
 _I am going to_ _die_ _..._ _I'm going to_ _die_ _... he is going to kill me…_

"Spencer! "He didn't know who had called him, he couldn't concentrate on anything in particular, just the beating of his heart that soon would have stopped.  
Then, miraculously, the warm body against him and the smell of sweat that filled his nostrils disappeared and the boy found himself free.

He was still paralyzed, trembling in fear, his eyes still closed, but he was free.

And alive.

"Spencer ... it's all right? "  
JJ's voice convinced him to finally open his eyes; his tearful eyes were frightened and red from crying.  
"Who was that man? "She asked him, visibly worried, while supporting his trembling body.

Unable to speak, the boy pointed to the figure lying dead in a pool of blood on the ground.  
"C- call ... T- the - the police ..." he could barely whisper.  
JJ stifled a cry, covering her mouth with her hand .

The police came after twenty minutes.  
Twenty minutes that seemed like an eternity to Spencer.

JJ and Spencer were supporting each other, staring blankly at the corpse of the stranger.

When the homicide detectives arrived, the head of the unit wrapped a blanket around the boy's shoulders and asked the owner of the restaurant to prepare a cup of hot chocolate for Spencer.  
He was a man in his forties , tall, with large shoulders, dark hair and a face that according to Spencer was unable to smile.

His name was Aaron Hotchner.  
The man tried to calm him, using a soft voice.

He asked him questions that Spencer didn't want to answer.  
He just wanted to go home, take a shower and go to bed, pretending that nothing happened.  
But staring at the dead body covered with a blood soaked sheet, he felt a stabbing pain in his chest.  
Remorse.  
He hadn't helped him, he had left that poor man to die.  
"I'm sorry ..." he muttered, staring at the sheet on the ground " I'm so sorry ..." He was again on the verge of tears.

"It's all right, son ... it's over ..."  
His hazel eyes focused on Hotchner " I d- didn't …h- help him.. " he growled with anger in his voice.  
He was angry at himself because he felt weak, because he WAS weak.  
The man stared at him with sweetness in his eyes that didn't belong to him, trying to calm down the visibly shocked teenager.  
"You can still help, Spence ..." the young man shuddered at the use of that name.

The agent was treating him like a scared little child!

"Tell us what you saw ... you can give him justice ..." added the other officer.

He was a black man , with muscled tattooed arms and gentle eyes that didn't seem to belong to that intimidating body.  
Spencer nodded, taking a long breath before being able to focus and talk.  
JJ was still by his side , holding his hand.

Their friends were staring at them, all sad and scared.  
All but Will, who seemed to want to get away from that place as soon as possible.  
"I- I ... I had left the restaurant to smoke a cigarette ... I heard a noise coming from there…" the boy raised his hand toward an indefinite point of the street, still trembling.

"He was there ... he was covered in blood, he crawled toward m- me for help ... ... I wanted to call for help ... but I was terrified ...then ... "

"Then what? " the black agent asked with a strange hurry in his voice.  
Spencer shivered, squeezing JJ's hand.  
He took another breath before continuing, "There was another ... another man ... uh- I immediately thought he was the k- killer ..."  
"Did you see his face? " The tattooed man insisted.  
The agent kept pushing, but Spencer only needed time to organize his thoughts

He shook his head " It was dark ... I could only see his shirt ..." he muttered, while another shiver ran down his spine "I couldn't see his face – then he approached me ... I closed my eyes ... I didn't want to see his face ... He would have killed me ... "  
The black agent sighed. He seemed angry at Spencer.  
The boy flinched involuntarily " I'm sorry … I was scared… sorry, so s- s- sorry " he moaned, like a kid terrified of punishment.  
"Never mind ... can you tell us what was he wearing? »  
Spencer nodded quickly.

He remembered it well. He was happy to be finally useful.

"It was a black T- shirt ... with a lion ... " it was the only thing he managed to say.

The tremors that shook his body were too strong to handle now.  
Then his heart skipped a beat.  
He had a shocking realization.

" He grabbed me ... He will think I saw him " his breath became ragged, he was terrified.

"He will kill me ... I shouldn't have told ..."

Suddenly, the bravery that he had felt just a moment before disappeared.

His weakness returned.

The young man began to shake his head, panic rose in his chest.  
Hotchner spoke calmly "No. Nothing will happen to you. You will not be alone, one of my agent will stay with you until we find this monster" he said, trying to sound as reassuring as possible.  
"I'll do it! " the black agent spoke, with a reassuring smile on his face.

"I'll be with you all the time... I will protect you "

 **I hope you all liked it. Again, English is not my first language so please have mercy, I'm doing this to improve my English. Please let me know if you caught any mistakes.**


	2. Chapter 2

**Hi! I will let you read this chapter soon, but first I want to thank you for all the reviews and the useful advices you wrote me. Thank you! This chapter was very difficult to translate and I hope I didn't do a mess.**

 **PS: I forgot to say an important thing. This story can be found on the web in its original form. It's called "Il testimone" (Witness) and the author's name is Dollarbaby (It's always me, don't worry, I didn't steal anything, I just changed my nickname). Just in case someone finds it and thinks I stole the story…**

 **Warnings: A lot of sad moments… Character death…**

 **Chapter 2**

The ride home was extremely quiet.  
The agent was focused on driving, while Spencer was trying to calm his breath.  
He stared at the many lights of the city, trying to not think about the brutal scene he witnessed.

That silence made him extremely nervous.  
"You didn't say your name ..." he muttered in a small voice, the agent barely heard him.  
The man turned for a moment to stare at him, " Agent Derek Morgan ... but you can call me Derek, kid ..."  
Spencer winced at the nickname.

He hated being called "kid".

He wasn't a kid anymore. He was a nineteen years old young man.  
"Did you called your parents? " Morgan asked.

This was ridiculous, Spencer couldn't believe his ears!

" What?! "  
"You know, I'll stay home with you for a bit... so... how are you going to explain my presence to them?" Morgan said with a mocking smile on his face.  
Spencer shook his head "I am nineteen years old and I go to college ... I live alone and I can pay my own rent and bills! " he yelled, trying to look as offended as possible but sounding more like an angry little child.  
"Wow ... impressive, kid ... forget it ... so you live alone? "Morgan replied, trying to hide another amused smile.

Spencer didn't answer, he was too tired.  
He just nodded.

He saw another smile on Morgan's face, then the agent returned his focus on the road. He seemed to be thinking of something, but Spencer didn't care.  
Once again the car was filled with silence.

* * *

As every other night, Spencer was welcomed home by a dark and empty apartment.

The only living being in that small house was Goldie, his goldfish, who swam in its bowl of water on the kitchen counter.  
When Spencer turned the lights on, Derek gave a quick look to the kid's apartment.  
There was a brown sofa in the middle of the room, a small television and a large book shelf.  
The kitchen was in front of the shelf. It was small and it consisted in two counters and a fridge.  
There was a bathroom on the left and another room on the right, probably the bedroom.

It could have been considered shabby, but the small apartment was neat and rather cozy.  
"Um ... I don't have another bed ... so ..." the young man murmured, keeping his eyes on the floor.  
Morgan smiled, "Don't worry, I will sleep on the couch ..." he replied.  
Spencer nodded, heading toward the bathroom on his long trembling legs.

"I'm going to take a shower ... Please make yourself at home ..." he murmured softly.

Derek came closer to him "Ki- .. Spencer. Sit down, you're exhausted ... you have to lie down, you're shaking" he murmured, grabbing him by his trembling shoulders.  
Spencer nodded, allowing the agent to drag him to the couch, where Derek made him lie down.  
Spencer's hands were pale and sweaty and he was shaking too much.  
The boy jumped when Morgan grabbed his hands trying to calm him down.  
They were cold as ice.  
"Hey, it's all right ... I can try to warm you up..." Morgan said.

Spencer shoot him an angry look.  
Morgan smiled, "You know what I mean ...Have you got something stronger than water to drink? »  
Spencer shook his head, "I don't drink alcohol ... I don't like it" he said.  
" Really? So what's that cabinet full of alcohol doing in your apartment? "Derek said, pointing at the small cabinet right under the television.  
"I don't like it , but my friends do ... a lot " Spencer replied, wiping his sweaty forehead.

"Then you won't mind if I take a glass of something, will you? We will all die one day. Something will kill you eventually, no matter if you drank a few beers or not during your life "  
Spencer stared at him wide-eyed and his breath became ragged.  
Derek mentally slapped himself "Sorry kid ... bad choice of words ..." he said, getting up and heading for the cabinet.  
Spencer shook his head, "Make yourself at home ... you can carry your bag in my room if you want ... I think I'm going to throw up ... then maybe I'll take a shower ..." he muttered wearily .  
Derek stared at him, worried "You sure you're okay? "He said.  
"I'm fine ..." the young man muttered, his voice barely audible, before disappearing into the small bathroom.

The shower was enough to warm his cold and exhausted body, but not to calm his nerves. He needed cigarette for that.  
While drying his hair in front of the bathroom mirror, the young man kept staring at his reflection.  
His brown hair were glued to his face by his own sweat. His skin was almost transparent, and the purple circles under his eyes made his hazel iris look more frightened than ever.  
He looked away from himself, hurrying out of the bathroom, dressed only in his bathrobe, desperate for a cigarette.

He hurried to his room where he found his cigarette in the nightstand beside the bed.  
When he found the package with the cigarette he had kept there for months, in case of abstinence like that, he treated it like a small treasure.  
He put it in his mouth and lit it, taking a long breath.  
Maybe it was the suggestion, but he felt himself relaxing a bit.  
The sound of the television came from the other room... Morgan had switched it on.

He wanted nothing more that get into bed, free his mind of anything and just sleep.

He didn't want to think, he didn't want to remember.

The dinner with his friends had been boring and now he found himself with a police officer living in his apartment and an unknown killer hiding somewhere, waiting for the right moment to rip his throat open. The same thing he did to that poor man in the alley.

He shook his head, he didn't need to think about those horrible things.  
He finished his cigarette and placed his clothes on a chair beside the bed.

He decided not to leave his house until the case was closed.  
His eyes fell by chance on the black bag that Derek had left near the bedside.  
It was open and Spencer saw something strange from where he was sitting on the bed.  
A black T- shirt was in that bag. There were stains on it, red stains…  
Spencer decided to take a better look of that shirt, just to be sure.

He felt intrigued and slightly scared.

He quickly checked if Derek was still watching TV, before pulling out the shirt from the bag.

He looked at it and gasped.  
A lion with open jaws was staring at him as if it was ready to devour him. The image was covered in blood.  
The world seemed to crumble down.

His legs were trembling and he couldn't stay still.  
His heart was beating hard and his mind seemed numb, completely lost in fear.  
 _No_ _..._ _It_ _can't_ _be_ _...He can't be..._ _Derek_ _..._ _  
_ _I have to call Agent Hotchner, now!_

He grabbed his cell phone and ran to the bathroom.  
He was in a hurry and he didn't remember to lock the bathroom door…  
He thanked his eidetic memory which helped him remember the unit chief's phone number.  
He tried to dial the number with trembling and sweaty hands and after several attempts he managed to bring the phone to his ear.  
 _Please_ _pick up_ _, pick up, pick up please ..._ _don't leave me alone with this monster…_

It was his last coherent thought.  
He felt a strong blow, a sharp pain in the back of his head and his world became dark.

* * *

He opened his eyes slowly, his eyelids looked heavy, His head was full of cotton and he couldn't keep it still.

The room was dark, but the little light coming from the TV was enough to cause him pain.

 _I'm still_ _in my house_ _..._ he thought.

He was sitting on something soft, maybe his couch.

He tried to lift his head a little, but he was too weak and it fell back against his chest.  
There was something warm running down his sweaty neck, probably it was his own blood ...  
Frightened, he tried to move his hands, only to find them tied up with duct tape in front of him.  
A barely audible whimper escaped his lips and it was only then that Spencer knew he was gagged, probably with the same duct tape that cut his wrists.  
He knew he had to be scared ,but perhaps the concussion still prevented him from thinking clearly, because all Spencer felt was just pain and sickness.

"You're finally awake ... I thought I hit you too hard ..." a voice, which he immediately recognized as Derek's voice penetrated the fog that filled his head, causing him an unexpected pain.  
He saw the blurry figure of the agent approaching him, grabbing his head to force him to look into his eyes.  
"It's funny, you know ... I wasn't going to kill you in that alley ... I knew that you hadn't seen me ... I knew you had been too afraid to look me in the eyes ... But certainly I didn't imagine that my chief would have sent someone to protect you. But then I thought it was a good idea to be with you all the time. Who knows, maybe you really saw something, I couldn't risk ... "  
Spencer felt the man smile, he was just a few inches away from his face.

The boy whined, starting to feel really scared.  
The other put a black cloth before his eyes for him to see…

 _The black shirt…_

"You're wondering why I killed that man? " the black man whispered in his ear, sending a thousand shivers of fear down the young man's spine.  
"The real question is ... why not, Spencer? "His voice had nothing human

" For years I killed people and you know why? Because I can and I like it. And you know what's so funny about all this? My team never discovered my little secret… "  
It was the voice of a monster, the same monster who had terrorized him in that alley.  
"Of course ... leaving this on plain sight was a mistake, but it's nothing that I can't fix ..."  
Those words echoed in Reid's head. They were his death sentence.  
 _I am going to_ _die_ _..._ _He's going to_ _kill me_ _..._  
He began to shake his head desperately, causing more pain to his wound.

Agent Morgan laughed again, mocking "Shhhh ...don't be scared, it'll be fine ... you won't feel a thing, I swear ..."  
The man approached him and despite the boy tried so hard to keep him away from him, the monster still managed to grab his bound wrists.  
When he saw him pull out a knife from his pocket, Spencer let out a cry of despair, but it didn't go beyond the duct tape that prevented him from speaking.  
Derek laughed again and with a rapid movement he cut off the tape that was tying Spencer' wrists.  
 _What is he doing?_ Reid thought, terrified.

 _Is he going to let me go?_

His hope didn't last much.  
"Like I said, my team never found out my secret... do you think I will be so stupid to kill you with a knife? "He was talking about his death as if the boy was not even there, as if he wasn't staring at him with terrified, tearful eyes.

Derek shook his head "No ... I invented a better story, do you want to hear it? "He was still smiling.  
Spencer shook his head.  
"Listen to it, you'll like it … Little Spencer is still shocked by what he saw tonight, so he throws himself from the window of the living room out of remorse for not helping tha poor dead man in that alley ... the agent who supervises him is in another room and can't prevent the boy's extreme act ... do you like it? "Derek smiled, as if he was proud of the story he just invented.  
Spencer tried to hit him but Derek grabbed both his wrists, pulling him off the couch without much effort.  
"Come on, kid... " Derek said impatiently "Don't make me punish you"  
He dragged Spencer to the open window of the living room, while the boy kept screaming and kicking in vain.  
How could his neighbors not hear his screams for help?

Eventually the man was able to put him on the windowsill, his legs dangling in the void.  
Spencer closed his eyes, trying not to look down, trying to remain calm, trying not to listen to Derek's voice that was reassuring him, swearing that he wouldn't feel any pain.  
The man tore the gag from his mouth, but Spencer didn't make a sound.  
For the second time that night, he just stood with his eyes closed, unable to look at the man who was about to kill him.

He tried with all his might to convince himself that the door would open soon and Aaron Hotchner would walk through the door and save him, stopping his colleague and throwing him in jail.  
But this doesn't happen in real life. This only happens in thriller movies.  
Innocent people die every day.  
Spencer never heard the door open.

He felt the disgusting man's kiss on his cheek, instead.  
He felt a strong knot in his stomach, he felt the cold air hitting his face and then an impossible pain exploded in his head.  
Then, it was darkness.  
Watching people approaching the boy's body on the ground, lying in a pool of blood, Derek Morgan smiled from the open window.  
 _What a shame_ _,_ _I liked_ _that kid_ _..._

 **Please, forgive me! : (**

 **If you're interested in my stories, I will translate all of them and post them here so… stay tuned!**


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